Coasters sent less garbage to the Sechelt landfill in the first three months of 2024 than they did in the first quarter of 2023. Rural area curbside food waste collection volumes were also down between the two periods.
From Jan. 1 to March 31, 2,816 tonnes of refuse went into the landfill this year. In the same period of 2023, the tonnage received was 2,823, details the Sunshine Coast Regional District’s (SCRD) infrastructure services 2024 Q1 activity report.
Garbage volumes by area
The major source of the reduction was the volume of material sent to the dump from Pender Harbour transfer station. That number was at 170 tonnes in 2024, down from 181 in the initial months of last year. In November 2023, the SCRD introduced a food waste compost receptacle at the transfer station, making it more convenient for users of that facility to divert food-related waste from their garbage, and to comply with the SCRD’s ban on disposal of food waste at the landfill, which was enacted in 2022.
Curbside garbage collected in the Town of Gibsons also declined, with the Q1 2024 volume recorded at 82 tonnes compared to 87 during that quarter of 2023.
In the areas of shíshálh Nation Government District, garbage volumes decreased in 2024’s first three months compared to the same portion of 2023: 22 tonnes this year, compared to 28 last year.
Garbage collected in the District of Sechelt increased over 2023 first quarter volumes. This year’s Q1 volume was 230 tonnes and 2023’s was 201.
For Q1 in the rural SCRD areas that have curbside garbage collection, garbage volumes also went up this year compared to last. 2024’s total for the quarter was 212 tonnes, whereas in 2023, the Q1 total was 205.
Are Coasters wasting less food?
While Coast Reporter can’t confirm whether ongoing food cost escalations were a contributing factor, residents that have SCRD curbside food waste collection put a lower amount of food product out in Q1 of 2024 compared to that period of 2023. That volume was at 95 tonnes for the first three months of the current year compared to 139 for that timeframe in 2023.
